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So no doubt you’re just as excited regards the JAX Tyres / EVolution announcement as we are! If you’ve ever spoken with any of the team at EVolution, you’ll know we live and breathe electric vehicles. So having a major outlet announce their commitment to sustainable transport and decide to roll out a nationwide charging network to 89 locations means as much to us as ”Team EVolution” as it does to us as individuals, who live the #EVLife.

The Tech

There’s been many requests for more information since the announcement last month. So what are the details? When will each site be EV Ready? Why the AURA and the Tritium products? Here’s what we can share…

Each site will be equipped with a minimum of a dual socket 22Kw universal EVSE. The AURA, from Charge-Amps, has been chosen by JAX Tyres as the preferred EVSE for all of its 89 branches. We recommended the AURA as it’s competitively priced, offered better features than other commercial grade products and presents as a quality build. Crucially and often overlooked in the market, the AURA won on aesthetics too; the AURA is a very attractive unit and that definitely counts. So many times we see featureless and quite frankly, ugly white boxes deployed in public spaces which have no design aesthetic whatsoever. Sure the AURA looks good in pictures but it’s even more staggeringly beautiful in person. One more benefit of the AURA platform; it’s constructed of recycled aluminium which unlike other chargers, can obviously be recycled again at the end of its useful life.

The AURAs are universal chargers meaning you will need to BYO cable to suit your car to get a top up. Universal chargers are becoming the norm for corporates and councils as they prefer reduced maintenance and liability.

The DC fast chargers will typically be 25-100kw units and will be strategically deployed at locations on high traffic transit routes. As you might expect, JAX and EVolution want the best bang for buck. Given the DC Fast chargers cost tens of thousand of dollars to procure and even more to deploy, it’s important they are located where they will be of the greatest benefit to the EV community. The final DC Fast Charger locations are tentatively agreed but still under discussion and we will make announcements as soon as everything is finalised.

What’s in it for JAX Tyres?

If you represent a corporate then pay attention to this bit. The announcement is nothing short of groundbreaking and remarkable for the EV community and will certainly accelerate the migration to sustainable transport in Australia. That’s a bold but valid statement and here’s the thing, the investment JAX are making in EV is relatively small beer compared to the overall capital investment of their business for 2019. For that moderate investment, they’ve received national coverage and attributable sales which can be tracked back to the campaign and the genuine gratitude of the EV community.

Throughout the development process, Steve Grossider the JAX CEO was adamant about this. The JAX EV network is all about benefit to the EV community and encouraging mainstream EV adoption in Australia. If a JAX customer (who owns a petrol or diesel car) observes a vehicle getting a top up while he or she waits for tyres, then this helps normalise electric vehicles. If the same customer learns that a fast top up can be had for free and in so many locations, then maybe just maybe they’ll consider an electric vehicle as their next car.

When will my local JAX be ”EV Ready”?

We’re still developing the deployment schedule. Some sites are dependent upon the JAX renovation schedule, council approvals or franchisee discussions. That said, we’re not messing about and we’ve already started the deployments to the Kwinana, Hawthorn and Coffs Harbour sites and these should go live within the next few weeks. The programme will only accelerate from there. Here’s to a sustainable future with help from the JAX and EVolution partnership.

Should you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to come back to us via social media, email or phone. We’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have!

Finally, if you have any preference for deployment priority to fill in any charging blackspots, let us know below and we’ll do our best to prioritise!

On Tuesday 28th May 2018, I attended the Climate Councils – Cities Power Partnership Roundtable, hosted by Bathurst City Council, held at the spiritual home of motorsport in Australia. Mount Panorama, Bathurst. This was attended by councils near and far who are also members of the Climate Councils – Cities Power Partnership. This is a program to link like-minded councils together to share success stories, ideas, and the power to bulk purchase.

Mount Panorama Motorsports Track

As this was being hosted at Mount Panorama, several EVs were on hand to take the attendees for a lap of the iconic street circuit, before the formalities of the day started. For me, it was his first time visiting the track and also the first time in a Tesla Model X, which is a little bigger than my current Nissan Leaf!

First time in a Tesla Model X & Outlander PHEV

The speakers at the roundtable were from the Climate Council, ACT Government, NRMA and Bathurst City Council. Topics were focused around:

EV adoption

How and why the ACT Government nominated to switch to 100% Zero Emission Fleet by 2023

NRMA’s 40 rapid chargers across the state of NSW – which should service 90% of the state in the initial uptake of EVs, and;

What sustainability plans are for EV charging deployment in Bathurst

One of the best parts of the day, by far, was a robust conversation that took over the second half of the roundtable which everyone participated in. Overall, it went to show that councils who can see the future contains Zero Emission Vehicles, that are powered by renewables they produce, are the ones positioning themselves for the future.

Mount Panorama, Bathurst

The Roads Minister for the ACT Government also invited everyone in the room to consider joining them in a BULK fleet agreement. To drive down the cost, increase the volume of vehicles on the roads, and create a future second-hand EV market. For more details on this please email climatechange@act.gov.au.

Footnote

Paul’s background is rooted in historic car racing and after purchasing his Nissan Leaf in 2016. This enabled him to get involved in lobbying the SA Government, to secure the Formula E for the past 18 months. He is also the co-leader of the All Electric Formula E Racing for Adelaide.